St. Francis Hospital president, CEO Robert Granger resigns

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) - The president and CEO of St. Francis Hospital has resigned from his role, according to a statement released on Monday.

The statement reads as follows:

St. Francis Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Robert P. Granger has tendered his resignation after almost 10 years of service to the organization.

"The Board and I concluded that a transitional leadership structure can best serve St. Francis as we continue down our planned path of partnership," says Granger. "It has been my privilege to serve at St Francis. I will always consider myself part of the St. Francis family and will do anything in my power to continue to help this wonderful institution."

During his tenure, St Francis established a strong collaborative culture with an outstanding group of physician partners. The culture of collaboration and partnership has transformed St Francis.

"Robert Granger has helped build consensus among the Board, hospital administration and physicians. This unique culture has allowed the hospital to move forward and really focus on doing what is best for health care in our community," says Richard Bradley, Chairman, St. Francis Hospital Board of Trustees. "The Board thanks him for his contributions and wishes him the best of luck in his future career."

Going forward, the Board of Trustees will lead the day-to-day operations until an Interim CEO is selected. Granger has agreed to be available to assist and support the Board, as needed, during this leadership transition.

Meanwhile, St Francis is continuing discussions with Piedmont Healthcare and is also exploring other potential partnerships.

Granger has been the president and CEO of St. Francis Hospital in August 2005. There has been no reason given for his resignation.

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This comes after a tumultuous few months for the private hospital. On Nov. 14, their chief financial officer Matt Moore was fired after being suspended in late October; a week later, on Nov. 21 there were 65 positions eliminated.